Jevrejski arhetip u prozi Aleksandra Tišme (romani Knjiga o Blamu i Upotreba čoveka): doktorska disertacija

Abstract

U romanima Knjiga o Blamu i Upotreba čoveka Aleksandra Tišme dominantne teme jesu rat i sudbina čoveka u ratu, a posebno jevrejskog čoveka. Govoriti o romanima Aleksandra Tišme znači najpre govoriti o traganju za identitetom, o nepripadanju i usamljenosti u svetu koji se doživljava kao neprekidno stradanje, kao opasnost, strahovanje, kao traganje za bezbednim mestom za život, da bi se naposletku shvatilo da takvo mesto ne postoji, da su svuda samo jed i patnja. Likovi ovih romana žive u teškim ratnim okolnostima, ali oni nose još teže breme jevrejske sudbine, ili u svojim korenima jednako problematičnu podeljenost, podvojenost između hrišćanstva i judaizma. U oba slučaja, svesni su svoje izdvojenosti, obeleženosti poreklom koje svakoga časa može biti označeno kao nepoželjno za život u zajednici. Stoga, strepnja i teskoba stalni su pratioci njihovih sudbina. U skladu sa ovom postavkom, Tišma analizira različite oblike preživljavanja u ratnom i posleratnom dobu (od mirenja sa zlom, pasivnosti, trpljenja, poniženja, preko otpora, osvete, nasilja, sve do poražavajućeg saznanja da „zlo rađa zlo”) ukazujući na fenomene vremena u kojem živimo. Autor s gorčinom preispituje postojanje humanističkih principa u ovakvom svetu, kao i ulogu literature u čitavom procesu. Tragajući u svojim romanima, pre svega, za istinom u svim aspektima života, Tišma dolazi do saznanja da su nasilje i zlo neodvojivi deo čovekove prirode, i to saznanje nudi kao datost, kao nepomerivu činjenicu. Uloga književnosti jeste da razbija iluzije, da podseća na preživljeno, da svedoči o ratnim događajima u svetlu uverenja da ono što nije zapisano - ne postoji.

In the novels, The Book of Blam and The Use of Man by Aleksandar Tišma dominant themes are war and the destiny of man in war, an especially Jewish man. To talk about the novels of Aleksandar Tišma primarily means to talk about the quest for identity, about rootlessness and loneliness in a world that is perceived as constant suffering, as danger, fear and search for a safe place, only to realize that such a place does not exist, that there is only misery and suffering everywhere. The characters of these novels live in difficult war conditions, but they carry an even heavier burden of the Jewish fate, or they have in their roots an equally problematic split – a split between Christianity and Judaism. In both cases, they are aware of their isolation, of being stigmatized by their origin, which at any moment can be declared unsuitable for life in a community. Therefore, anxiety and uneasiness are constant companions of their fate. In accordance with this setting, Tišma analyzes different forms of survival in wartime and in the post-war era (from conciliation with evil, inaction, suffering, humiliation, through resistance, revenge, violence, until the devastating knowledge that “evil begets evil”) thus indicating the phenomena of our time. The author bitterly re-examines the existence of humanistic principles in such a world, and the role of literature in the whole process. Searching in his novels primarily for truth in all aspects of life, Tišma comes to the conclusion that violence and crime are inseparable parts of human nature, and he presents this insight as a given, as a fixed fact. The role of literature is to shatter illusions, to remind us of things we have been through, to testify about wars in the light of his belief that if things have not been written down it is as if they do not exist at all.